The Songwriter Behind ‘Oh Yeah’ From ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Is a Multimillionaire Now

The one-hit wonder really paid off.

Ferris Bueller and Cameron
Movie Still

Even if you’ve never seen the 80s classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you’ve probably heard “Oh Yeah” by the German techno group, Yello. The song became a pop culture staple—and even though it was only a one-hit wonder for songwriter Dieter Meier, the Wall Street Journal reports Meier managed to turn profits off the song into a massive bank account. 

Though Meier’s song has been used in countless movies and TV shows since it debuted in the iconic comedy, his $175 million dollar bank account certainly wasn’t built from royalties alone. Meier told the WSJ that the song he initially didn’t even like only provided seed money. 

From there Meier started investing in transportation and currency companies, reported the Journal, and his fortune began to explode. 

That’s a pretty killer track record for an artist who after writing the song told his band mate Boris Blank that he thought he was all out of inspiration.

Funny enough, Meier has never seen the movie that kick-started his eccentric, growling song’s lucrative journey up the charts. He “never actually saw the whole film,” Meier reportedly said, “…I once saw this one famous scene when the guy, I think he opens the garage for his father’s Ferrari.”

We’re not feeling too bad for Meier missing out on an entertaining film—he’s probably pretty happy sitting on top of his mountain of money.

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